Valve stem lock



Sept 5, 1950 E. J. WENDELL ETAL 2,521,659`

VALVE STEM LOCK Filed May 16. 194'? Patented Sept. 5, 1950 VALVE STEM LOCK Evert J. Wendell, Wayne, and Richard B. Sargent, Erdenheim, Pa., assignors to Hale Fire Pump Co., Conshohocken, Pa., a corporation of Penn- Sylvania Application May 16, 1947, serial No. 748,532

(ci. 251-16s 7 Claims.

This invention relates to valves and particularly to means for locking ball valves in any kdesired position.

In the use cf ball valves which have spherical rotatable valve elements, considerable diculty is encountered because the valve proper tends to turn in the valve body especially when the valve is partially open or gated Contrary to the well known plug valve which depends largely for non-leaking operation on the friction between the plug and valve body, it is important in ball valve construction that there be a minimum of frictionbetween the rotating valve member and the valve body. Consequently, a ball valve should be capable of being locked Without exerting force between the valve and the valve body otherwise the sealing means would soon become worn and totally inoperative.

The essence of the invention resides in a cam formed on the valve handle which'acts to clamp the valve stem securely to the valve body when the handle is twisted; therefore, a primary object is to provide a cam operated lock for a valve stem.`

A further object is to provide a valve handle having a radial cam and a compression member surrounding the valve stem through which the valve handle protrudes, and a cam follower in the valve stem cooperating with the cam on the handle `so that, when the handle is rotated on its longitudinal axis in the stern and sleeve, a compressive clamping action between the valve stem and valve body is obtained.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cam follower adjustably mounted in a rotatable valve stem which serves to retain a valve handle in the valve stem regardless of the adjustment of the follower.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shoulder on the valve stem having va bearing surface located internally of the valve body and against which the stem may be securely clamped to prevent rotation thereof.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an elongated aperture in the valve stem to accommodate the valve handle whereby slight transverse movement of the stem with respect to the handle can occur, but relative movement between the stem and the handle in a direction radial to the axis of the stem is prevented.

A -still further object of the invention is to provide a single cam surface and a limit stop on a valve handle whereby the locking action can be achieved by rotation of the cam in one direction only.

Furtheriobjects of the invention will be apparent in the specification and drawings, in which:v Fig. 1 shows a side elevation'of a. ball valve.

assembly constructed in accordance with"the' invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional detail of the valve stem and surrounding structure taken along lines 2-2 of Fig. l and showing the valve' in locked position; i' Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail showing in partial-` section the valve stem and surrounding structure as would appear in a section taken' along 4linesv 3;3 of Fig. 2 but ci the entire valve, and Fig. e is a view corresponding t'o Fig. -3"but ona reduced scale showing a' Inodicationv within* the scope ofthe invention. '7 Referring now more lparticularlyv to the'drawings, ball valve body 6 is of 'conventional coniv struction and has a flange "I" and a removable flanged coupling 8 which is bolted to the valve body 6 by means of cap screws`9. A valve handle I0 is mounted on the body 6 and is. revolvable in a plane parallel vto the direction of iluid iloiv'f The body or housing 6 has a valve stern guide' in the form of a sleeve I'I which surroundsand supports valve stern `I2`-and is provided with an'- annular seat I3 at its' internal connection'withthe body 6. A vconventional ball vv a'lve I'Il'f is'` enclosed -in body 6 and has a recess orv groove 15p to accommodate tongue'l` on the inner endjof valve stem I2,'thus providing a, turning connec-f tion between the stem and the valve proper. Valve guide II terminates outwardly at shoulder I 'I which supportsand provides bearing surface' for a separate sleeve I 8. This sleeve I 8 constitutesl in effect a continuation of the guide sleeve Il.v

Spaced directly above the tongue I6 n valvei stem I2 is an annular shoulder i9 Iwhich cooperates with seat I3 in the valve body and limitsl upward movement of the stem-'in the valve guide7 The yshank 2l) of the valve stem extends through guide II, where a suitable annular seal ZI is provided to prevent luidleakagejand ter? minates substantially at the top of sleeve I8. At,l

approximately the midpoint of sleeve I8, a trans:

verse hole is drilled through both the sleeve and; the shank of the valve stem. This hole in the; sleeve is preferably rearned to provide ,a close; turning st with handle lo, but the hofienzz elongated in shank 20 ina direction along the' axis of the shankA to provide limited up and down movement of Athevalve stem with respect to 'the' sleeve and the handle, at 23 and 24.*` The sides" of hole 22 inr shank 2ll,`however, are of approxi-VV mately the same diameter as handle Ill` in orde'rl that no lost motion be present when thehandle is revolved to turn the valve stem about its axis.

The portion of handle I contained within shank has an annular groove 25, the base of which forms a cam surface 26 which extends from stop 21 completely around the handle and terminates at its highest point 28 within the groove 25'. -A earn follower 29 is formed from the extremity 0f a common threaded set screw 30 by means of which the projection of the cam follower 29 into hole 22 may be adjusted. Lock nut 3| on set screw 30 provides means for permanently retaining any desired adjustment of the cam follower.

The major diameter of the cam 26 is less than the diameter of the handle, the purpose of this construction being to prevent endwise removal of the handle from the sleeve and stem even if the set screw be adjusted to clear the high lift portion 28 of the cam. However, it is possible to remove the handle completely by loosening lock nut 3| and backing out the set screw 30 until the camfollo'wer v29 clears the groove 25 entirely.

In operation, the ball valve is customarily turned through yan arc of only 90 to obtain either full onor full off operation of the valve. However, my locking construction is operative throughout the entire 360 permissible turning arc of valve stem I 2.' To release the locking action, the operator twists or rotates handle I0 about a longitudinal axis in a clock-wise direction, in Fig.: 2, until stop 2l strikes against'the cam' follower 29. This prevents further rotation of the handle and the operator may then revolve the handle to open or closefthe valve as well as to position it inany intermediate station.Y Once having determined the desired valve setting,.the operator then twists handle I0' in` a counter clock-wise direction until the cam surface 2s engages cam follower 29 as shown in Fig. 2, thus causing the entire valve stem -I2 to be forced upwardly until shoulder I9 bears against seat I3.

The reaction to this force is carried through the' portions of handle. I0 in contact with sleeve I8 which then serves as 'a compression member between the handle andthe outer seat II of'the valve stem guide II. It will be apparent that sufllcient clearance at 24 between shank 20 and handle I0 must Ybeprovided in order to prevent bottoming of the valve stem against thehandle before shoulder I 9 engages seat I3. In actual practice, the clearance necessary to permit turning of the valve stem would be very slight.

In the modified embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 4, the sleeve I8 has been eliminated and the guide sleeve I Ia extended so as to form a seat for the handle Ia. The operation vof the device is the same as in the previously described embodiment except that the handle in this case reacts directly with the sleeve IIa.

We have, therefore, disclosed -a locking device for a valve which operates solely to clamp the valve stem-and which requires merely a turn of the wrist both to lock and to unlock. Furthermore, an voperator is always aware of the direction in which the handle mrust be turned to effect either a locking or an unlocking result because the .limitstop 2'! prevents locking action from taking place when the handle is turned in one direction. rIn the present instance the locking action occurs when the handle is turned in counterclockwise direction, `but obviously the device could be reversed so that if preferred, the locking action occurs with the clockwise movement.` The cam surface gradually increasing 4 over a range of 360, prevents inadvertent or accidental locking and also insures maximum'valve life since the cam follower is readily adjustable to Icompensate for wear on the cam surface or cam follower.

It will be apparent that the invention is not limited to a ball type of valve since it can be applied in its broadest scope to many varieties of valves and other structures.

We claim:

1. A valve assembly comprising a valve body, a valve rotatably enclosed in said body, a valve stem adapted torotate the valve, a shoulder on the valve stem adapted to abut an internal portion of the valve body, said valve stem having a shank portion containing a transverse aperture, a. compression sleeve concentrically surrounding the shank portion and having a transverse aperture in alignment with the shank aperture, a handle rotatably mounted in the shank and sleeve apertures,v a vcam on the handle, a cam follower in the shank for cooperating with the cam to move the stem so as to engage the stem shoulder forcibly with lthe said abutment portion of the valve body, and Abearing means for the sleeve on the valve body, said bearing being arranged to support the sleeve against the reaction' forces imposed thereon when the cam is actuated to forcibly engage the said shoulder with the bodyabutment. l,

2. A valve lock Comprising a valve handle having a camsurfacega valve stem in which said handlerotates, said stem being adjustable angularly about its longitudinal axis, a cam follower connected with'said valve stem for coop erating with the cam surface, a shoulder on said valve stem, and sleeve means surrounding the valve stem, said cam surface and follower being arranged in the stem so that rotation of the said handle in the stem will effect a relative longitu-` dinal movement of the :stem and;sleeve, and relatively fixed abutment means for both the sleeve and the shoulder for limiting the extent of said relative movement and against which the said sleeve and shoulder may be pressed by said cam to` immobilize the valve stem against said angular movement and forming a bearing for the handle'.

3. A valve lock constructed in accordance with claim 2 wherein the cam follower is threadedl in the valve stem for adjustment with respect to.

the latter.

4. A valve assembly comprising a valve body, a valve rotatably enclosed in said body, a valve stem adapted to rotate thevalve, a shoulder on the valve stem adapted to abut an internal portion of the valve body, said valve stem having a shank portion containing an elongated transverse aperture, a compression sleeve concentrically surrounding the shank portion and having a transverse aperture in alignment with the shank aperture, a lhandle rotatably mounted in the shank and the sleeve aperture and having a close turning t in the sleeve aperture, a ca m on the handle, a cam follower mounted in the shank for cooperation with'the cam to move the stem so as to engage the stem shoulder forcibly with the said abutment portion of the valve body, and bearing means for the sleeve on the Valve body, said bearing being arrangedv to support the sleeve against the vreaction forces imposed thereon when the cam is actuated to forcibly engage the said shoulder with the body abutment.

5. A valve assembly/comprising a valveV body,

the shank and sleeve apertures said handle having a close turning nt in the sleeve aperture and a slidable nt in the elongated shank aperture, a cam on the handle the major diameter of the ycam `being less than the outside diameter of the handle, an adjustable cam follower mounted in the shank for cooperation with the cam to move the stem so as to engage the stem shoulder lforcibly with the said abutment portion of the valve body, and bearing means for the sleeve on the valve body, said bearing being arranged to support the sleeve against the reaction forces imposed thereon when the cam is actuated to forcibly engage the said shoulder with the body abutment.

6. A locking device for a ball valve comprising a valve housing, a ball valve rotatably mounted in said housing, a valve stem guide pro jecting from the housing, a valve stem rotatably mounted in said guide, means on the inner end of said valve stem for engaging with and rotating the valve, a shoulder on the valve stem for limiting outward movement of the stem, a compression sleeve concentrically surrounding the outer portion of the stem and having a bearing surface rotatably connected with the outward edge of the valve stem guide, a threaded set screw axially mounted in the valve stem, means for locking said set screw in any desired position. a Valve handle extending through the sleeve and the valve stem at right angles to the axis of the stem said handle having a close turning t in the sleeve and an axially slide-ble t in the Valve stem, a cam surface on the handle adapted to cooperate with the set screw, the major diameter of the cam srurface being less than the outside diameter of the handle, and a limit for the cam surface `whereby lifting action between the cam and the set screw takes place in one direction of rotation only.

7. In a valve lock, a valve stem adjustable angularly about its longitudinal axis, a handle element connected with and movable with respect to said stem, a shoulder on said stem, a relatively '3 xed structure including an abutment for said REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,041,824 Laser Oct. 22, 1912 1,718,730 Brown June 25, 1929 .1,722,752 Kamath July 30, 1929 1,946,745 Johnston Feb. 13, 1934 2,005,128 Bowes June 18, 1935 2,346,892 Aldrich Apr. 18, 1944 2,441,705 Jacobsen May 18, 1948 

